Testing a Learning Health System in Juvenile Justice Settings (036)
Study Information
The Indiana University School of Medicine JCOIN Research Center aims to improve treatment linkages and care coordination within the eight juvenile justice systems across Indiana. To address current gaps, the study is implementing a Learning Health System (LHS) to improve collaboration between juvenile justice agencies and community mental health centers, using interagency data-sharing to help identify gaps and opportunities to implement evidence-based interventions.
The goal of this study is to identify mechanisms to improve interagency collaboration; enhance prevention and treatment service delivery along the opioid care cascade; and improve outcomes for justice-involved youth at high risk of developing a substance use disorder.
Study Settings: Juvenile Justice, Treatment/Healthcare Settings
Study Location: Indiana
Publications:
- Alliances to disseminate addiction prevention and treatment (ADAPT): A statewide learning health system to reduce substance use among justice-involved youth in rural communities (2021)
- Implementation of peer recovery coach services for opioid overdose patients in emergency departments in Indiana: Findings from an informal learning collaborative of stakeholders (2021)
- Adaptations to Indiana’s 21st Century Cures-funded recovery coaching initiative in the wake of COVID-19 (2021)
- Use of Project ECHO to promote evidence based care for justice involved adults with opioid use disorder (2022)
- Antecedents of Fatal Overdose in an Adult Cohort Identified through Administrative Record Linkage in Indiana, 2015-2022 (2023)
- Evidence‑based Treatment for SUD in CMHCs: The ACCESS Program (2023)
- Prevention of Opioid Use and Disorder Among Youth Involved in the Legal System: Innovation and Implementation of Four Studies Funded by the NIDA HEAL Initiative (2023)
- Caregiver and Juvenile Justice Personnel Perspectives on challenges and importance of caregiver engagement and the potential utility of a peer navigator program in the Juvenile Justice System (2023)
- Who gets screened and who tests positive? Drug screening among justice-involved youth in a midwestern urban county (2024)
- Initial validation of a computerized adaptive test for SUD identification in adolescents (2024)
- Early development of local data dashboards to depict the substance use care cascade for youth involved in the legal system: qualitative findings from end users (2024)
- Attitudes toward and training in medications for opioid use disorders: a descriptive analysis among employees in the youth legal system and community mental health centers (2024)
- A Statewide Consultation Helpline for Rapid Linkage to Services for Youths With OUD and Other Substance Use (2024)
Study Team
PI: Matt Aalsma

• Create alliances between the juvenile justice system and community mental health centers
• Improve services targeting at-risk youth
• Generate and track local solutions to address continuum of care gaps in rural counties
• Assess the long-term, community-wide effects of these interventions on public health and safety outcomes
Clinical Trial, Linkage Strategies